My test is still running, it's been a week and counting. (I found it out three days ago)But your getting warmhttps://ec.europa.eu/research/eic/index.cfm?pg=prizesI couldn't (What moving two charicters and adding a "=" can do)[ I ruined my own test, really bad that it takes over a week before NSF notices this. I'm really disappointed.

Let's add that PLDspace was awarded a SME Instrument from the EU Horizon 2020 program in 2016. That was for the Arion 1 sounding rocket. That was the first contract they got from outside of Spain.I really fear I've exposed a lot of European startup to more competition by exposing this. That's why I keep some thing quiet.

The company PLD Space continues with its ambitious goal of becoming the first Spanish company to build an orbital launcher. And today we have great news, because the European space agency (ESA) has chosen PLD Space as the main contractor of the LPSR (Liquid Propulsion Stage Recovery) program to develop a reusable first stage. Come on, a kind of SpaceX to the Spanish.

To put ourselves in a position, remember that PLD Space is developing two rockets, the Arion 1 and the Arion 2. The Arion 1 will be a single-stage suborbital launcher, while the Arion 2 will be able to put satellites in low Earth orbit - and even more there- thanks to its three stages. Precisely PLD Space intends to use these launchers as demonstrators of ESA's LPSR program, a program in which other Spanish companies such as COMET Engineering and Tecnalia-CTA Technology Center will also participate. The contract of the LPSR program amounts to 750,000 euros.

The objective of PLD Space is therefore to provide the Arion 2 with a reusable first stage, although previously they will carry out test flights with the Arion 1. So, does this mean that we are going to see a Spanish rocket returning to the launching pad as the Falcon? 9 from SpaceX? Not quite. Precisely the LPSR program must identify which technologies are the most suitable for the recovery and reuse of the first stages of liquid fuel rockets. In the Arion 1 reuse technologies associated with both the supersonic phase of flight and the subsonic will be tested. The techniques of reuse that will be tested in the Arion 1 will be more traditional and will consist of parachutes (both supersonic and subsonic), although the possibility of using controlled paragliders or ballutes, a mixture of parachutes and balloon that was very popular, will also be studied. in the 60s (in fact it was proposed as a braking medium for the MAR manned landing module). In addition, Arion 1 flights will test the benefits of new thermal protection systems (TPS) of the coping - remember that this suborbital launcher will reenter the atmosphere with the nose ahead - and other technologies to reduce the adverse effects of corrosion due to seawater.

The first flight of Arion 1 is scheduled for the end of 2018 and, depending on the success of this vector, the Arion 2 will follow in 2020 (obviously, no one will be shocked if there is finally some delay in these plans). A possible mission of the Arion 1 within the LPSR program could be the following: the rocket takes off from the base of El Arenosillo (Huelva) and 40 seconds later exceeds the speed of sound. About 110 seconds after the launch, the engine shuts off at an altitude of 80 kilometers and two minutes later the rocket reaches its peak at 220 kilometers. 390 seconds after the takeoff, reentry into the atmosphere would begin, which the rocket would carry out with the cap pointing towards the ground, as if it were an arrow. At 420 seconds of the mission the supersonic parachute would be deployed and at 510 seconds it would be the turn of the two larger subsonic parachutes. Finally, the landing in the Atlantic would take place 700 seconds after takeoff. Prior to this mission, a test of Arion 1 will be conducted by launching it from a military cargo plane to test the sequence of events related to the landing.

For its part, the Arion 2 will have a more advanced reuse system that will make use of the vehicle's engines. However, returning the first stage of Arion 2 to almost the launch ramp in a similar way to Falcon 9 is another matter. Why? Because this launcher is already quite small in itself and carry the necessary fuel for reuse would reduce its load capacity to practically zero. For this reason what PLD Space will do within the LPSR program is to recover the first stage of the Arion 2 using rocket engines, yes, but also parachutes, as well as nitrogen propellers and supersonic ailerons similar to those used by SpaceX on top of the first stage of the Falcon 9 (ailerons, by the way, that are used in the emergency escape system, SAS, of the Soyuz). Nitrogen thrusters and supersonic ailerons would allow to maintain control of the vehicle from the supersonic phase to landing. In the final, subsonic phase, the two motors of the first stage would be added to guarantee a vectorial control of the descent and allow to delimit the landing zone with great precision. In order to reduce the technological gap between the Arion 1 and the Arion 2 PLD Space wants to test the Arion 1.5, an improved version of the Arion 1 with two stages, the first of which will be more powerful. Although it will also be a suborbital vector, the Arion 1.5 will have a second stage that will be placed on a trajectory that simulates an orbital launch.

Although there are currently several initiatives within the ESA to create reusable launch systems, this is the first time that the European agency - and not the various space agencies of the EU countries - decides to bet on the development of technologies for recovering complete stages of liquid fuel launchers, techniques that at the moment only dominate the North American companies SpaceX and Blue Origin. And the good news is that these technologies will be tested on Spanish rockets. PLD Space now has a huge challenge ahead: to prove that not only are they capable of launching rockets, but they can also recover them. Whether they succeed or not, they will undoubtedly make history. From here we wish you all the luck of the world. I bear witness that they deserve it.]The company PLD Space continues with its ambitious goal of becoming the first Spanish company to build an orbital launcher. And today we have great news, because the European space agency (ESA) has chosen PLD Space as the main contractor of the LPSR (Liquid Propulsion Stage Recovery) program to develop a reusable first stage. Come on, a kind of SpaceX to the Spanish.

To put ourselves in a position, remember that PLD Space is developing two rockets, the Arion 1 and the Arion 2. The Arion 1 will be a single-stage suborbital launcher, while the Arion 2 will be able to put satellites in low Earth orbit - and even more there- thanks to its three stages. Precisely PLD Space intends to use these launchers as demonstrators of ESA's LPSR program, a program in which other Spanish companies such as COMET Engineering and Tecnalia-CTA Technology Center will also participate. The contract of the LPSR program amounts to 750,000 euros.

The objective of PLD Space is therefore to provide the Arion 2 with a reusable first stage, although previously they will carry out test flights with the Arion 1. So, does this mean that we are going to see a Spanish rocket returning to the launching pad as the Falcon? 9 from SpaceX? Not quite. Precisely the LPSR program must identify which technologies are the most suitable for the recovery and reuse of the first stages of liquid fuel rockets. In the Arion 1 reuse technologies associated with both the supersonic phase of flight and the subsonic will be tested. The techniques of reuse that will be tested in the Arion 1 will be more traditional and will consist of parachutes (both supersonic and subsonic), although the possibility of using controlled paragliders or ballutes, a mixture of parachutes and balloon that was very popular, will also be studied. in the 60s (in fact it was proposed as a braking medium for the MAR manned landing module). In addition, Arion 1 flights will test the benefits of new thermal protection systems (TPS) of the coping - remember that this suborbital launcher will reenter the atmosphere with the nose ahead - and other technologies to reduce the adverse effects of corrosion due to seawater.

The first flight of Arion 1 is scheduled for the end of 2018 and, depending on the success of this vector, the Arion 2 will follow in 2020 (obviously, no one will be shocked if there is finally some delay in these plans). A possible mission of the Arion 1 within the LPSR program could be the following: the rocket takes off from the base of El Arenosillo (Huelva) and 40 seconds later exceeds the speed of sound. About 110 seconds after the launch, the engine shuts off at an altitude of 80 kilometers and two minutes later the rocket reaches its peak at 220 kilometers. 390 seconds after the takeoff, reentry into the atmosphere would begin, which the rocket would carry out with the cap pointing towards the ground, as if it were an arrow. At 420 seconds of the mission the supersonic parachute would be deployed and at 510 seconds it would be the turn of the two larger subsonic parachutes. Finally, the landing in the Atlantic would take place 700 seconds after takeoff. Prior to this mission, a test of Arion 1 will be conducted by launching it from a military cargo plane to test the sequence of events related to the landing.

For its part, the Arion 2 will have a more advanced reuse system that will make use of the vehicle's engines. However, returning the first stage of Arion 2 to almost the launch ramp in a similar way to Falcon 9 is another matter. Why? Because this launcher is already quite small in itself and carry the necessary fuel for reuse would reduce its load capacity to practically zero. For this reason what PLD Space will do within the LPSR program is to recover the first stage of the Arion 2 using rocket engines, yes, but also parachutes, as well as nitrogen propellers and supersonic ailerons similar to those used by SpaceX on top of the first stage of the Falcon 9 (ailerons, by the way, that are used in the emergency escape system, SAS, of the Soyuz). Nitrogen thrusters and supersonic ailerons would allow to maintain control of the vehicle from the supersonic phase to landing. In the final, subsonic phase, the two motors of the first stage would be added to guarantee a vectorial control of the descent and allow to delimit the landing zone with great precision. In order to reduce the technological gap between the Arion 1 and the Arion 2 PLD Space wants to test the Arion 1.5, an improved version of the Arion 1 with two stages, the first of which will be more powerful. Although it will also be a suborbital vector, the Arion 1.5 will have a second stage that will be placed on a trajectory that simulates an orbital launch.

Although there are currently several initiatives within the ESA to create reusable launch systems, this is the first time that the European agency - and not the various space agencies of the EU countries - decides to bet on the development of technologies for recovering complete stages of liquid fuel launchers, techniques that at the moment only dominate the North American companies SpaceX and Blue Origin. And the good news is that these technologies will be tested on Spanish rockets. PLD Space now has a huge challenge ahead: to prove that not only are they capable of launching rockets, but they can also recover them. Whether they succeed or not, they will undoubtedly make history. From here we wish you all the luck of the world. I bear witness that they deserve it.

« Last Edit: 02/01/2018 09:16 PM by Darkseraph »

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"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." R.P.Feynman

"I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just hopefully not at the point of impact." -Elon Musk"We're a little bit like the dog who caught the bus" - Musk after CRS-8 S1 successfully landed on ASDS OCISLY

PLD Space, the European Microlauncher company, has closed a new funding round of 9 million euros completing its Series A round of 17 million euros. Among the new investors are the Spanish aeronautical company Aciturri, founded by Ginés Clemente, and the Spanish investment fund JME Venture Capital, led by José Manuel Entrecanales, CEO of Acciona, one of the largest infrastructure and renewable energy companies in Spain.

In January 2017, PLD Space announced a successful fundraising of 7.8 million euros as its first tranche of Series A financing round, which allowed the company to grow from 6 to 40 employees today, as well as carry out the engineering development of the ARION 1 suborbital launch vehicle. This year in May, the second investment tranche of 9 million euros was completed, comprised of 7.1 million euros of private investment and 1.9 million euros of public investment.

– “Receiving the confidence of a large aeronautical firm like Aciturri is very important for us. With more than 40 years of experience in the sector, for us they are a reference in the aeronautical industry”-, said Raúl Verdú, Chief Business Development Officer of PLD Space.

Regarding entering PLD Space as a shareholder, Aciturri’s General Director of Strategy, Álvaro Fernández Baragaño, states that -“the PLD Space project is a commitment to the space sector that fits perfectly with our diversification strategy, which, in addition to our support as a financial partner, we believe we can provide with our knowledge and technology“-.

– “It is the first time in the history of Europe that a venture capital fund like JME has decided to invest in space launchers, something that until now had only happened in the United States. It is undoubtedly a milestone in the history of the European Venture Capital,” pointed out Joaquín Durán, financial advisor of PLD Space.

Lourdes Álvarez de Toledo, JME’s Principal, said: “We believe that PLD Space will be the first private European company capable of launching a small rocket into space. The small satellite launch sector is growing by leaps and bounds and currently there are no providers in the European market to meet the growing demand. We are strongly committed to PLD Space because it has the team, the partners, and the institutional support to achieve this”.

In addition, the previous partners, including the multinational GMV and the ALZIS group, have also decided to invest in this new round, which strengthens their support for PLD Space. In the case of the technology group GMV, which became a stakeholder of PLD Space in December 2016, it once again opts for PLD Space, maintaining its stake in the company and continuing with the development of the avionics of the ARION 1 rocket. GMV’s 12-member technical team, led by Emanuele Di Sotto, GMV’s head of the Launchers and Re-entry Systems division, coordinates the AVIOAR (Avionics for ARION) project which is currently working on the development and qualification of the ARION 1 flight avionics, set to be ready for its maiden flight next year.

At the beginning of the year, PLD Space received financial support of two million euros from the European Commission’s SME-2 Instrument and, in addition, a contract with the European Space Agency for the detailed technical and commercial study of the ARION 2 orbital microlauncher, as well as its future launch base in Europe.

Now, this new financial support will allow PLD Space to start manufacturing two complete reusable ARION 1 rockets that will be ready to fly into space in 2019 from the CEDEA “El Arenosillo” test range in Huelva, belonging to the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA). In addition, PLD Space will expand its propulsion test facilities at the Teruel airport to include testing of more rocket engines and a new test bench for complete rocket stages.

Raúl Torres, CEO and co-founder of the company: – “We are in the process of manufacturing our first two space rockets, and we hope to start their integration and testing by the end of this year. It’s the beginning of a new era in our company, very nice but complex, because for the first time, we’re going face to face with building our first space launcher. In fact, we have already started purchasing materials and equipment to manufacture those 2 vehicles and more than 8 rocket engines that will be qualified for the first space launch in PLD Space’s history. In addition, I am proud to say that everything is being developed in Spain: Design, Manufacturing, Integration, Qualification, and the future Launch, which increases Spain’s competitiveness and brings added value to our national aerospace industry, which is strategically important at international level”-.

Considering the fierce competition among mini launchers companies, would you invest money in one of them? It is hard to tell which of them will become profitable.

Given that the investors are Spanish, I'd think it has more to do with national pride/patriotism than it has a high chance of becoming profitable. Of course, by injecting money into the project, they are increasing the chances of it becoming profitable than not funding them at all.

Given that the investors are Spanish, I'd think it has more to do with national pride/patriotism than it has a high chance of becoming profitable. Of course, by injecting money into the project, they are increasing the chances of it becoming profitable than not funding them at all.

Both the major "investors" are contributing services, not cash i.e. they will build some subsystem like GNC or structures in exchange for shares.

It's clear why those guys would do it - they get to co-propose launcher projects to the European state-funding gravy train and get their staff paid for the next 10 years to develop launch vehicle at almost no cost to themselves.

The weakness in this model is that it is just too slow and risk averse to match up with private models like Rocket Lab and Vector - and the techncial concept is from 1955.

I suspect this company will ultimately be what is called a zombie - survive forever but never make serious money for investors.

Considering the fierce competition among mini launchers companies, would you invest money in one of them? It is hard to tell which of them will become profitable.

Probably none of the mini launch companies will become profitable. Most markets support 2 big companies and a specialist company. SpaceX, ULA or possibly the Chinese launch company are the big ones. So the rest are competing to become the mini launch company. Some of these companies are owned by governments so they do not need to make a profit.

I hope everybody realises that Arion 1 is a suborbital, single stage rocket, also known as sounding rocket. Arion2 is their proposal for a orbital rocket. Congrets to PLDspace for closing the funding for Arion1. The best of luck with keeping the progress going on the Arion rocket program.